Tommie Hu$tle
Member
Someone tell me what the deal is with this game? What happened to camera angles?
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Lament of Innocence - Hell I lament I played this game.
- Thread starter Tommie Hu$tle
- Start date
Yes, the camera is weird.
Lots of backtracking, no teleports, and even worse no indication which way you are supposed to go. You may find a biforcation, fight all the way thru one long path, to realize it ends with a closed door... and the key is at the end of the other path. Go Go respawning enemyes, fighting back all the way, and going back again.
World is extremely broken up in indipendent rooms, which encourages to just run away from battles.
So as a bandaid solution they add rooms that shut you inside until you kill every last creature... yawn.
It really lacks a balance of fighting and dodging enemyes, in part also because the battle grounds don't offer any interesting design to add to the depth of the fights.
Combat wasn't too good either.
One problem is I found it too easy to avoid damage - hold down the guard button, or just run around randomly, and you are usually safe.
The best battle engines imo are those keeping you under pressure, where skill is required both for attacking and avoiding damage even in the short term (see Devil May Cry, or Jak II) - not those allowing defensive play.
Another problem, is that the different combos and special attacks were largely irrilevant. Use one of the other, the difference was mostly graphical, which made them boring faster.
Simplistic world design, professional but repetitive and not particularly ispired looks, frequent loading pauses, bare cutscenes, predictable plot, not many items, simplistic gameplay.
Good music but not particularly fitting with the action and looks.
It has its good points - enemy variety, fast action, good character design.... but that's it IIRC.
Not too satisfing. Had a Budget Game vibe. Towards the end, found kinda painful to play.
Having just recently played Viewful Joe, a good example of revitalizing the old 2d platform genre, I thought that maybe the Castlevania franchise needs to be killed off. Nice GBA games, but Konami seems unable to revitalize it with some good and fresh ideas. Recycled gothic looks can't hold a franchise appeals indefinitely.
Lots of backtracking, no teleports, and even worse no indication which way you are supposed to go. You may find a biforcation, fight all the way thru one long path, to realize it ends with a closed door... and the key is at the end of the other path. Go Go respawning enemyes, fighting back all the way, and going back again.
World is extremely broken up in indipendent rooms, which encourages to just run away from battles.
So as a bandaid solution they add rooms that shut you inside until you kill every last creature... yawn.
It really lacks a balance of fighting and dodging enemyes, in part also because the battle grounds don't offer any interesting design to add to the depth of the fights.
Combat wasn't too good either.
One problem is I found it too easy to avoid damage - hold down the guard button, or just run around randomly, and you are usually safe.
The best battle engines imo are those keeping you under pressure, where skill is required both for attacking and avoiding damage even in the short term (see Devil May Cry, or Jak II) - not those allowing defensive play.
Another problem, is that the different combos and special attacks were largely irrilevant. Use one of the other, the difference was mostly graphical, which made them boring faster.
Simplistic world design, professional but repetitive and not particularly ispired looks, frequent loading pauses, bare cutscenes, predictable plot, not many items, simplistic gameplay.
Good music but not particularly fitting with the action and looks.
It has its good points - enemy variety, fast action, good character design.... but that's it IIRC.
Not too satisfing. Had a Budget Game vibe. Towards the end, found kinda painful to play.
Having just recently played Viewful Joe, a good example of revitalizing the old 2d platform genre, I thought that maybe the Castlevania franchise needs to be killed off. Nice GBA games, but Konami seems unable to revitalize it with some good and fresh ideas. Recycled gothic looks can't hold a franchise appeals indefinitely.
I really like LoI and think it's a fantastic and fun action game. The battle system is what makes it so great and enjoyable to play. Otherwise, the cinematics are pretty weak and the camera is a LITTLE weird, but I still have a blast each and every time I control Leon and walk him into a room to smack around some demons and monsters. Plus, the fight with Death is one of the more fun boss battles I've had in recent memory.
Nintendo Ate My Children
Member
*looks at username*
*understands*
I love Castlevania, and I wanted to like this game too, but it was just boring. Half the fun in Castlevania games is the platforming aspect and when you take that away, you end up with a game that's, well, half as fun. I'm not at all opposed to a 3D Castlevania, I just want one that's done right. The Castlevania series is no more "3D proof" than the Mario or Zelda series, it's just that Konami hasn't been able to do it right yet like Nintendo did when they took their games into 3D.
Nintendo Ate My Children said:*looks at username*
*understands*
I love Castlevania, and I wanted to like this game too, but it was just boring. Half the fun in Castlevania games is the platforming aspect and when you take that away, you end up with a game that's, well, half as fun. I'm not at all opposed to a 3D Castlevania, I just want one that's done right. The Castlevania series is no more "3D proof" than the Mario or Zelda series, it's just that Konami hasn't been able to do it right yet like Nintendo did when they took their games into 3D.
IAWTP.
I would really love a new 2D Castlevania for consoles done in the style of Rondo of Blood or Super Castlevania 4, and not another SOTN collect and level up fest.
open_mouth_
insert_foot_
they should make a super 2D castlevania game for current gen consoles with graphical quality akin to Gradius V
Bluemercury
Member
ITs probably worse than the N64 incarnations......mainly because seeing the same corridors over and over is well BORING.........
No teleportation? I call the tickets to the last save point and the item shop teleporting.
The bosses were fun and intense (I just looooooooove the gruesome dungeon boss), and the combat was fun to play around with. But overall LoI was pretty boring and leisurely (should have offered more platforming than it did) with average music.
The bosses were fun and intense (I just looooooooove the gruesome dungeon boss), and the combat was fun to play around with. But overall LoI was pretty boring and leisurely (should have offered more platforming than it did) with average music.
Tommie Hu$tle
Member
No I rented it to give it a shot. I am a castlevania fan but, I don't think I can understand this game.
I really enjoyed it despite its identical hub worlds.
Its one of those games where your constantly thinking "why did they do that?". I mean it couldnt be that hard to make some multi level platforming mixed in.
Oh and I loved the soundtrack, there just wasnt enough of it for the time spent backtracking in the same level.
Its one of those games where your constantly thinking "why did they do that?". I mean it couldnt be that hard to make some multi level platforming mixed in.
Oh and I loved the soundtrack, there just wasnt enough of it for the time spent backtracking in the same level.
Kiriku said:
You are right... ok, I'll rephrase: not enough teleports
IIRC backtracking took longer in LoI than in other CV games, didn't it?
Tickets didn't help much to reduce backtracking either. Mostly a shortcut to the shop, and having to buy them didn't help.
I supported LoI when it was first announced, but it didn't turn out very good imo. Being a Castlevania fan myself doesn't make it magically better.
CV IV being my favorite, that's the style i'd like to see again if Konami can't get the 3d right.
I hope the series gets back on its feet, but regardless other games made nice replacements for it already.
I thought it was utterly mediocre. A year after release, it seems like more people are willing to admit it =)
They didn't have to make an SOTN-style game, they just needed to make it something other than a repetitive beat-em-up with virtually no platforming elements. A return to 2D would be pretty cool, if unlikely...
They didn't have to make an SOTN-style game, they just needed to make it something other than a repetitive beat-em-up with virtually no platforming elements. A return to 2D would be pretty cool, if unlikely...
radios shipping overview
Member
I agree most wholeheartedly with this post.Eric-GCA said:
One of the worst Castlevania games I've ever played. Man, if they could have merged this game's combat engine (minus the stupid room clearing rule) and framerate plus the N64 games' level designs and exploration elements, they would have had something special.
I've said it before. The PS2 game may have been a somewhat better action game, but the N64 titles were vastly superior Castlevania experiences.
I've said it before. The PS2 game may have been a somewhat better action game, but the N64 titles were vastly superior Castlevania experiences.